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Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

Plumlee, Johnson to Play 2 Games With Fort Wayne in D-League

November 21, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday that rookies Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson will join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for two games this weekend. This is the first time the Pacers have assigned players to their NBA D-League affiliate.

Plumlee, a 6-10, 245-pound center/forward who was the Pacers' first-round pick last June (26th overall), has played in four games this season, scoring four points and pulling down five rebounds. Johnson, a 6-5 guard who was a second-round pick that the Pacers acquired from Sacramento on draft night, has played in two games, but hasn’t scored.

"We could not be happier to have Miles and Orlando join our team for these first two games," said Mad Ants head coach Duane Ticknor. "We think we can provide both players a great opportunity to improve their games, and I am excited for this watershed moment in our partnership with the Pacers."

Fort Wayne hosts Erie Friday night and Maine Sunday. The two players will re-join the Pacers for their three-game western road trip next week.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I don't know about you but every time I've seen Miles play, I've seen positive things. Is there any way to watch the Mad Ants?

Not sure if this holds for outside of the US, but this was just announced...

2012-13 NBA D-League Season Tips Off With Four Games on Friday, Nov. 23 --
Official Release

NEW YORK, November 20, 2012 – The NBA and YouTube announced a new deal today that will provide fans with more than 350 NBA Development League games streamed live during the 2012-13 regular season on the NBA D-League YouTube channel and through a YouTube video player on NBA.com. The partnership was announced by Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commissioner, and Claude Ruibal, Global Head of Sports for Google/YouTube.

The deal marks another first between the NBA and YouTube. The NBA was the first professional sports league to partner with YouTube in 2005 to unveil the NBA Channel and to join their "Claim Your Content" program. To date, more than 960 million videos have been viewed by fans, making it the most popular sports channel on YouTube.

As a result of today’s announcement, the NBA D-League, the NBA’s official minor league, will feature the most live games on YouTube by a major professional sports league.

“The NBA’s latest initiative with YouTube marks another milestone in our partnership and a great way to tip off the 12th season of the NBA Development League,” said Silver. “By turning to our longtime partner, YouTube, we are able to bring the NBA D-League to basketball fans around the world, further expanding the league’s growth and showcasing future NBA stars.”

“As one of the world’s most popular sports with a broad roster of top prospects, the NBA D-League is a perfect fit for the YouTube platform,” said Ruibal. “With our broad global delivery across all platforms and devices, providing live and catch up NBA D-League games and highlights will make this exciting content easily accessible to a whole new generation of basketball fans.”

The NBA D-League season on YouTube will tip off opening night on Friday, Nov. 23, with four games when the Maine Red Claws meet the Canton Charge, the Erie BayHawks play the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants, the Tulsa 66ers host the Texas Legends, and the Bakersfield Jam open against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The four games on opening night will feature 36 top NBA prospects that recently participated in NBA training camps.

Throughout the season, NBA D-League fans won’t miss a moment of live regular season action as all of the league’s games will be available nationwide either online; on the NBA D-League Center Court mobile app – the league’s free mobile application providing fans with access to NBA D-League content on the Android Market and the App Store; or on CBS Sports Network and NBA TV, the league’s national television partners.

In addition, fans will be able to access the live games on the NBA D-League YouTube channel via all of the league’s 16 team web sites. They can also access archived versions of the live games to view on demand through the YouTube channel and the league’s web site shortly after the conclusion of the contests.

Overall, the NBA D-League features 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA franchises. The league is a proven developer of talent with 20 percent of players on 2012-13 NBA opening-day rosters having NBA D-League experience.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I feel like this is perfect use of the D league team. Gets Miles and OJ an opportunity at some playing time and then brings them right back on board for the west coast trip where bonding with teamates is more important. I like the move.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

Yeah he has shown some good, but he has also shown some ineptness. He has some potential, just don't know how much.

I'd like to see better defense and defensive rebounding out of him. His offensive game in the SL satisfied me.

Personally, I think that some people are prejudiced against Miles due to his play at Duke. When you start seeing him in a new light, completely forgetting his college years, you'll come to appreciate him as a player

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I'd like to see better defense and defensive rebounding out of him. His offensive game in the SL satisfied me.

Personally, I think that some people are prejudiced against Miles due to his play at Duke. When you start seeing him in a new light, completely forgetting his college years, you'll come to appreciate him as a player

Yeah, I think he has a world of potential. Much more so than some of our other late pick centers. Like Harrison, Haskins, or Brezac.

The people who wish he would have done more in college mystify me. If he'd played up to his potential in college then he never would have been available for us to draft. So I'm happy with his college career.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I just don't see why so many still hold so much hatred towards him... He was the 26th pick in the draft... It's not like we blew a top 10 pick on him or something... He's looked decent to good to me in the limited time I've seen him play in SL, Preseason, and RegSeason...

Then again I have no college bias against him (both in terms of his production and who he played for)... I still think he will pan out well for a 26th pick...

This is no Thabeet at 2 type of situation... But the things some posters write would make you think it is...

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Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I will be watching I have been watching Machado and Dmo play in the Dleague pretty solid so far in the preseason. The games are webcast and are on demand for free at NBA.com just have to have an NBA access account which is free.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I just don't see why so many still hold so much hatred towards him... He was the 26th pick in the draft... It's not like we blew a top 10 pick on him or something... He's looked decent to good to me in the limited time I've seen him play in SL, Preseason, and RegSeason...

Then again I have no college bias against him (both in terms of his production and who he played for)... I still think he will pan out well for a 26th pick...

This is no Thabeet at 2 type of situation... But the things some posters write would make you think it is...

Because there were 20+ better NBA prospects available. If we wanted a big man Festus E was the way to go. Solid defender limited upside but was a NBA role player from almost day one defensively and had upside to get better offensively.

Last year was a deep draft(20-45 was great place to pick) and to me picking a 24 year old who is terrible at basketball was a mistake. I dont even know what the scouts saw in him makes me question my scouting ability if he turns out to be a good player

One of the least aware players I have every scouted just looked clueless at Duke on both ends. 40in vert only matters if you know how to play basketball.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

Yeah, I think he has a world of potential. Much more so than some of our other late pick centers. Like Harrison, Haskins, or Brezac.

The people who wish he would have done more in college mystify me. If he'd played up to his potential in college then he never would have been available for us to draft. So I'm happy with his college career.

Harrison?! As far as potential goes Harrison was head and shoulders better than Plumlee. Harrison had more potential than Hibbert, his problem was all mental. He didn't have the maturity or work ethic to meet his potential, and that was the sole reason he dropped to us late in the draft.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

Harrison?! As far as potential goes Harrison was head and shoulders better than Plumlee. Harrison had more potential than Hibbert, his problem was all mental. He didn't have the maturity or work ethic to meet his potential, and that was the sole reason he dropped to us late in the draft.

Harrison had height but not an NBA body. He had short arms. Still does. You can't teach reach.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

Harrison had height but not an NBA body. He had short arms. Still does. You can't teach reach.

And Hibbert is an uncoordinated oaf who was able to work hard and overcome his weakness to make someone want to pay him $14 mill a year. It is a lat easier to overcome short arms than it is to overcome being uncoordinated.Both of them just take hard work. That is something Hibbert has, and Harrison did not.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

And Hibbert is an uncoordinated oaf who was able to work hard and overcome his weakness to make someone want to pay him $14 mill a year. It is a lat easier to overcome short arms than it is to overcome being uncoordinated.Both of them just take hard work. That is something Hibbert has, and Harrison did not.

????? I am soooooo puzzled. I never expected to get anyone stirred up by mentioning David Harrison. I agree with you that Hibbert is better than Harrison. But then, I don't toss Hibbert into the "late pick" category.

But back to Plumlee. He had a great reputation in the weight room at Duke. Seems like a hard worker to me with a good attitude. I'm hoping for big things.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

????? I am soooooo puzzled. I never expected to get anyone stirred up by mentioning David Harrison. I agree with you that Hibbert is better than Harrison. But then, I don't toss Hibbert into the "late pick" category.

But back to Plumlee. He had a great reputation in the weight room at Duke. Seems like a hard worker to me with a good attitude. I'm hoping for big things.

I just like there to be accurate information out there. At the time everyone saw that Harrison had the potential, but it also quickly became obvious he didn't have the work ethic to meet that potential. I was just using Hibbert as an example of a player overcoming a weakness to maximize their potential through hard work because you claimed the reason Harrison didn't have a lot of potential was because he had short arms.

Re: Two Pacers to the D League this weekend.

I just like there to be accurate information out there. At the time everyone saw that Harrison had the potential, but it also quickly became obvious he didn't have the work ethic to meet that potential. I was just using Hibbert as an example of a player overcoming a weakness to maximize their potential through hard work because you claimed the reason Harrison didn't have a lot of potential was because he had short arms.

Short arms is what I'll always remember Harrison for. They mentioned it when we drafted him. I pictured him looking like a T-Rex in a basketball uniform. Burned that image into my mind.

I think there were many reasons why Harrison was available for us late in the draft. And I'm glad Plumlee doesn't have that kind of make up. That's why I think people should be patient and give him a chance.